Workplace laws are put into place to protect applicants and workers from discrimination. Diversity and inclusion in the workplace describe the different types of job applicants and employees of a business. Under federal law, diversity describes people from different ethnicities, sexes, ages, mental and physical abilities.
Federal laws are enforceable in all 50 states, and workplace diversity laws protect employees when it comes to inclusion in the workplace. However, are diversity laws enough? Do they always protect applicants and employees? This article will discuss the different workplace diversity laws and explore whether they help.
Federal Workplace Diversity Laws
Equal Pay Act
The equal pay act is one of the first anti-discriminatory workplace laws, making it illegal for men and women with the same jobs to be paid different wages. This major law is one of the most commonly discussed diversity in the workplace, especially when it comes to compensation and the wage gap. While there’s no denying the wage gap, it hits women of color harder than any other group.
The Equal Pay Act aims to put everyone on level playing friends, but it’s frequently violated.
Title VII
Title VII Of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is an early act designed to protect a diverse range of people, especially those who are marginalized. Under this act, employers cannot discriminate against applicants because of sex, race, or sexual orientation during the recruitment process and beyond. In general, this law aims to promote a better work environment, making it illegal for someone to make remarks about sexual orientation.
Age Discrimination in Employment Act
Age discrimination is another frequently violated law, but the law states that employers cannot discriminate against people based on their ages, particularly those over the age of 40 years. Therefore, their wages cannot be reduced, and employers should not base hiring decisions on the age of the person.
American with Disabilities Act of 1990
The American Disabilities Act protects mentally and physically disabled applicants from unlawful hiring practices. Applicants cannot be denied the appropriate wages due to disabilities.
Pregnancy Discrimination Act
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act is part of the 1964 Civil Rights Law which states that employers cannot discriminate against hiring pregnant women or individuals who have recently undergone childbirth. The main purpose of this law is to ensure that pregnant women won’t be faced with harassment related to their pregnancy and ensure they’re not under unnecessary stress, such as losing their job, because of their pregnancy.
State Diversity Laws
States can pass their laws to protect diversity and inclusivity in the workplace. For example, the New York State Human Rights law protects people from illegal discrimination of people based on:
- Age
- Race
- Creed
- Color
- Nationality
- Sexual orientation
- Sex
- Disability
- Genetic predisposition
- Marital status
Ultimately, this law extends the federal laws to include more groups of employees.
State legislation typically expands on federal laws already in place. However, they may also protect businesses with fewer employees.
Do Workplace Diversity Laws Really Help?
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And now, the answer to our question. Unfortunately, this answer is complicated. While on paper, these laws sound like they should help individuals of all kinds get jobs, receive equal pay, and avoid harassment, many of these laws are violated. With most laws, violations result in repercussions, but workplace discrimination violations can be difficult to prove in court, rendering these laws ultimately ineffective.
Victims Require Proof
If a victim believes they were fired from a job because of their sex, sexual orientation, or race, they have to prove it in a court of law, which can be difficult. Ultimately, if you don’t have evidence, then a court won’t believe you. If you’re being harassed via email or you have a coworker who has witnessed the harassment, you might have a case. However, it’s ultimately up to the court to hear both sides of the argument and determine if it’s enough to move forward with a case.
Laws Depend on Companies
Many diversity laws are unenforceable. While a victim may have every reason to believe they weren’t hired for a job based on their race, they simply can’t prove it, and the potential employer is never going to admit to it. Therefore, these laws do provide certain protections, but they’re limited.
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As a result, individuals who believe they are victims of racism, microaggressions, and sexism have very limited options. Instead, it’s up to the company to ensure a healthy company culture with diversity and inclusion at the forefront.
While the benefits of having a diverse workforce should be enough to motivate any business to have an inclusion strategy, consider what might happen if you don’t.
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If you don’t have diversity within your company, you may be seen as a company with unlawful and unfair employment practices. Therefore, if an employee makes complaints about your company not hiring someone because of their skin color and you have zero employees of color, that might be grounds enough for not only the law but the public to see you as guilty.
How Can Businesses Improve Inclusion Efforts?
While workplace diversity laws provide limited protections, your company can offer employees more protections by ensuring you have a healthy company culture that values inclusion and diversity in the workplace; it all starts with human resources. Firstly, there are many benefits to hiring people with different backgrounds and skin colors. However, HR professionals and individuals in charge of the hiring process and employee retention strategy must ensure their workplace fosters inclusion. Here’s how.
Implement an Equal Employment Policy
While you legally have to have an equal employment policy, you must make it part of your hiring process. An equal employment policy explains what types of behavior are prohibited. In addition, it should have assurances that if employees complain about unfair practices, you will protect them from retaliation.
Your employment policy should be detailed in your employee handbook so all of your employees understand what behavior is acceptable and what isn’t. Not only that, but it reminds them of your fair hiring practices.
Have Diversity Training
It is illegal to discriminate against an applicant for a variety of reasons. Ensure your managers, especially HR employees, are trained on these laws. You should also invest in diversity training for all employees within the company to help remind them of the policies in place and that their actions have consequences.
Check Your Company Culture
Inclusive culture is key from company management. It is an employer’s responsibility to practice inclusivity in the workplace, which means having a diverse staff the company values. Remember that just because you have diverse employees doesn’t mean you have inclusion. Inclusion means your business makes a conscious effort to welcome a diverse group of workers into your business.